Mike’s College Football Extra Points – Week 7

CB Johnthan Banks did a great job v. Tennessee last weekend (Photo: US Presswire)

By BBD Editor Mike Watkins

Another week of College Football has come and gone and some things are becoming to get clearer while others are only getting cloudier. Some prospects like Geno Smith saw their first struggles of the season while others like Colin Klein continue their run of success and continue to befuddle talent evaluators. In this week’s extra points I give you my Top 5 RB’s along with quick looks at WR Marquess Wilson (Washington State) and CB Johnthan Banks (Mississippi State).

-I don’t agree with Florida being ranked the #2 team in the country but when looking over their resume I can see why they are. However I don’t see them getting through the rest of their schedule without a loss. I don’t trust their offense

-I have been banging on LSU for almost the entire year but you have to give props where props are due and beating a very tough and physical South Carolina team was a great win for them

-You keep thinking the bottom is going to drop out on Notre Dame at some point but they keep just chugging along and it looks like that they are well on their way to a BCS Bowl game. They have a classic trap game against BYU this week and then a big test against Oklahoma

-Geno Smith and West Virginia had a bad game, it happens. Geno Smith however needs some tips on how to handle the media after losing. Prepare to be blistered with questions about that in every pre draft meeting you have

-Collin Klein may not win the Heisman but there may be no more important player to a team in college than Klein is to K-State

-LSU DE combo of Mingo and Montgomery both had solid games against South Carolina. After having some trouble against the run against Florida the week before they seemed to shore up that part of their games against South Carolina

-S E.Reid had a decent game against S.Carolina but the more I watch him the less I like him. He doesn’t have a huge hole in his game but he isn’t really dominant in any one area either. He is starting to look more and more like a 2nd rounder to me

-I really like Alabama’s Center B.Jones. It just seems like whoever lines up in front of him he just flat dominates. Add in his versatility and he is likely to be the first IOL off the board in the 2013 NFL Draft

-OT L.Johnson had an excellent game for Oklahoma against Texas Saturday. He had a tough task trying to handle two of the better DE’s in college football all day and he did so very well. He isn’t a first rounder but he should move up after that performance

-People need to start including Oregon State CB Jordan Poyer in the discussion for top CB’s in this draft. It’s hard to watch a Oregon State game and not have Poyer jump off the screen by making multiple plays

-One player that I see mentioned as a possible fringe first rounder or mid second rounder is DE M.Buchanan. However when I see him play I just don’t see it. He never seems to jump off the screen and gets washed out of way to many plays for my liking

-Player that caught my eye, OLB K.Greene from Rutgers: In every game of Rutgers I watch Greene is all over the place. He can drop into coverage, rush the passer, and has always been a good run defender. He was all over the place against Syracuse with an INT and a sack to go along with 9 solo tackles

Quick LooksJohnthan Banks, CB/S, Mississippi State
- Good Height at 6’2 but a little light at 185
-Can play and has experience at both S and CB
-Decent speed, reported to run in the mid to low 4.4’s
-Has long arms teams look for in the position
-Has the respect of opposing offenses as they rarely throw to his side
-Has a nose for the ball and always seems to be in the right place at the right time
-Very active in run support
-He’s more fast than quick
-I like him more in zone heavy scheme than I do a man one
-Is a better matchup against taller physical WR’s than he is against small quick WR’s
-He has a lot of experience playing in the toughest conference in football. He played in all 12 games as a freshman at S starting 7 of them, and has started every single game at CB since then. Bottom line, you don’t get that much playing time in the SEC if you are not a good player. I like Banks and think he is locked into the first round and will be one of the first DB’s taken off the board in the 2013 NFL Draft

Marquess Wilson, WR, Washington State
-Good height at 6’4 but a little light at 183
-Has been a productive player despite a lack of talent around him
-Excellent hands
-Wide receiving radius
-Has good body control
-Knows how to time his jumps to snatch the ball at his highest point
-Beats double teams on a regular basis
-Good in the red zone
-Has a knack for making clutch catches that move the chains
-Needs work on route running, gets away with sloppiness because will make a good amount of contested catches
-Willing blocker but by no means a good one
-Speed is a concern, reports are he runs in the high 4.4’s but its more likely the mid to high 4.5’s
-I don’t think he’ll ever be a #1 on the NFL level but he certainly can be a #2 in the right system. His lack of speed is going to move him down draft boards. So his 40 times are going to be critical for his draft stock. He gets in the 4.4’s and he’ll be a fringe first rounder. Anything lower and its likely the 2nd round, maybe 3rd depending on the time. I like him as a player because I have seen him make clutch catch after clutch catch all while being the only real offensive weapon Washington State has.